OOTS #1147 - The Discussion Thread

[Gluteus_Maximus]

I think Durkon has been through enough by now that "A baby chewed his way out of my non-existent womb" registers as a "Mondays, amiright?" kind of deal.

I'm not sure I understand you? The Deva doesn't seem particularly bothered by it so why take offense?

Haha, yeah.

I guess. But then this Deva's got to be not lawful in some way, right? I mean, they were on a drunk weekend to limbo. How does that happen when you're lawful? Even if you obey whatever drunk plane shifting laws the outsiders have then getting drunk and then heading straight to limbo, a place of chaos, is a strange occurrence for a being of law. Or is alignment not altered if stuff you did while drunk would change your alignment if you did it sober?

Anyway, how did the Deva even get drunk? Aren't angels, like, immune to disease and have pretty good fortitude saves?

EDIT: On an unrelated note, this means Celia has been around for quite some time and Roy has been dating a centuries-old sylph. That, or there are an utterly enormous number of sylphs/other air elementals that marry and have kids because their memories keep getting wiped. Do they even die of old age!?

[Peelee]

Haha, yeah.

I guess. But then this Deva's got to be not lawful in some way, right? I mean, they were on a drunk weekend to limbo. How does that happen when you're lawful?

As evidenced by the entire Lawful race of dwarves, who never touch the stuff.

[GooeyChewie]

The thoughts that went through my head during this strip:

Obviously the cleric in question is Hilgya. The chances of it being somebody else are 1 in a million.
Wait, exactly 1 in a million? But that means...
Mwahahahaha!!!!

[blunk]

It'll be a mix of all of the letters. For example, you might call it a vealaddas or alsedavad.

Lazy money is on "Deva Salad".

[JoseB]

I guess they were able to put together all the dust into which Durkula’s body was disintegrated after Belkar destroyed it, for Hilgya’s “Resurrection” to work.

I can imagine the rest of the order carefully sweeping up the dust to make sure they don’t miss any... :)P

[Gluteus_Maximus]

As evidenced by the entire Lawful race of dwarves, who never touch the stuff.

Yes, and I am sure every one of those lawful dwarves would be on weekends to Limbo all the time if they did touch it. The point of the post was not that I was confused a lawful creature got drunk, it was that they went to a plane of chaos while being so.

[danielxcutter]

*wheezes at the last two panels*

I'm betting that Hilgya was planning to rez Durkon after she killed him. Er... 5 quatloos?

[137beth]

Huh, well, that answers my confusion about why the IFCC didn't know about the snarl.

[zimmerwald1915]

I guess they were able to put together all the dust

Any of the dust. Resurrection only requires a speck.

[Gluteus_Maximus]

I guess they were able to put together all the dust into which Durkula’s body was disintegrated after Belkar destroyed it, for Hilgya’s “Resurrection” to work.

I can imagine the rest of the order carefully sweeping up the dust to make sure they don’t miss any... :)P

Resurrection works with just a pinch. Even if there existed a cubic mile of dead durkula dust they wouldn't need all of it to Rez durkon :p

[Jaxzan Proditor]

First, it’s definitely interesting that they have to wipe the Outsider’s minds. Not that I think it’ll come up again, but it’s still a cool tidbit. Also, I’m sad but not surprised to see Minrah go. Finally, I’m definitely eagerly awaiting seeing what happens with Durkon once he’s brought back.

[Peelee]

Yes, and I am sure every one of those lawful dwarves would be on weekends to Limbo all the time if they did touch it. The point of the post was not that I was confused a lawful creature got drunk, it was that they went to a plane of chaos while being so.

Fair point, though "while drunk" seems like the most likely time a lawful creature would go to a plane of chaos, IMO.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Shout out to the Slaadi!

Edit: come to think of it, is the spawn of a Slaad and a Deva just 100% pure Slaad, or some kind of Celestial Slaad? Could it have been 100% Deva or 100% Slaad but not 50% of each?

I think you miss the point of exemplars of elemental chaos if you expect them to be predictable.

I guess they were able to put together all the dust into which Durkula’s body was disintegrated after Belkar destroyed it, for Hilgya’s “Resurrection” to work.

I can imagine the rest of the order carefully sweeping up the dust to make sure they don’t miss any... :)P

Resurrection works with just a drop of blood, so a pinch of dust is all that would be needed. More would be desirable (for psychological reasons, at least), but not needed.

Yes, and I am sure every one of those lawful dwarves would be on weekends to Limbo all the time if they did touch it. The point of the post was not that I was confused a lawful creature got drunk, it was that they went to a plane of chaos while being so.

Obviously, Limbo is the planar equivalent of Las Vegas. So what happens in Limbo...

[Jay R]

Shout out to the Slaadi!

Edit: come to think of it, is the spawn of a Slaad and a Deva just 100% pure Slaad, or some kind of Celestial Slaad? Could it have been 100% Deva or 100% Slaad but not 50% of each?

I'm not even sure I can process the words "Celestial Slaad".

In any event, the host body isn't a genetic contributor; it's just a nursery for the egg and food for the young slaad.

Is... Durkon not grossed out at all by the concept of a Slaad baby chewing its way out, whether or not the pregnant Deva could survive the birth? Or at all disgusted by how evil an act like that could look to a lawful stupid like him?

Durkon didn't see the cutaway panel; he just heard the conversation. There are details that the deva is not sharing with Durkon, even if the Giant is sharing them with us.

[Sniccups]

*wheezes at the last two panels*

I'm betting that Hilgya was planning to rez Durkon after she killed him. Er... 5 quatloos?

Quatloo?

(I've heard it a couple of times, but I have no idea what it means. Is it a currency?)

[Rogar Demonblud]

Yeah, from a sci-fi show about aliens who gamble. Actually, it's probably more famous because of the internet by now.

[dmc91356]

Hey, hey, hey now, that's original Star Trek, not just "a sci-fi show"

[Kish]

Yes, and I am sure every one of those lawful dwarves would be on weekends to Limbo all the time if they did touch it. The point of the post was not that I was confused a lawful creature got drunk, it was that they went to a plane of chaos while being so.

I see no indication that the deva is Lawful.

(If you're thinking "Roy's was," deva are Any Good. If you're thinking Durkon should be at the Lawful Good afterlife...well, we've seen it, and it wasn't called Valhalla.)

[ManuelSacha]

Ugh.
A deva with a slaad?
Just... how does that work, exactly?
Also, are angels genderless in this cosmology?
Or is that a male deva?
Sooooo many questions.

[ellindsey]

Any of the dust. Resurrection only requires a speck.

The tricky part is making sure it's his dust, and not dust from any of the other vampires killed in the battle.

[LadyEowyn]

I see no indication that the deva is Lawful.

(If you're thinking "Roy's was," deva are Any Good. If you're thinking Durkon should be at the Lawful Good afterlife...well, we've seen it, and it wasn't called Valhalla.)

That's a good point. On the comic with the big diagram of the Outer Planes, the plane that most people concluded is Valhalla ("Fight the good fight") is next to Limbo.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Well, that is the placement in D&D's Great Wheel cosmology.

[danielxcutter]

Yeah, from a sci-fi show about aliens who gamble. Actually, it's probably more famous because of the internet by now.

Oh so that's where it's from? TIL...

[Vanidar]

........anyone else now suddently 100% certain that Durkon's resurrection is going to have some weird complications? Like, it's going to be a week or two later, or the entire council was killed or Hilgya is rez'ing him away from the OOTS or something like that?

Might just be my inner Elan talking, but having not seen any of the living since Durkon was staked... well, who knows what's happened down there...

Oh, I'm almost certain you're right except that he'll:

Spoiler

Show

get rezzed back at the Godsmoot by the Halfling priest of Loki who is serving there.

The only way it doesn't go sideways is if the plot demands it, which is a pretty viable reason in this universe.

[Giggling Ghast]

I'm curious what it is that breaks the minds of all the Outsiders. That, coupled with what happens to Odin, makes you really wonder about the stability of pretty much everyone who is immortal in the OOTSverse.

If I had to guess, it’s the knowledge that the gods are not infallible and they are locked in an eternal cycle.

That makes me wonder, though, if they have to wipe the memories of ALL Outsiders. Would that include the fiendish races?

[danielxcutter]

If I had to guess, it’s knowledge that the gods are not infallible.

No, I don't think that's it, since not all the outsiders directly serve gods(example: the IFCC)...

Maybe it's not because they don't have as strong mental fortitude as gods do. I'd imagine going through billions of worlds would do quite a number on their heads...

[Anarion]

This is the comic that gets the live action movie an R-rating, obviously. Glad to see Durkon going back though.

[Doug Lampert]

The offspring of a Slaad is always a normal Slaad, no matter what host they implant their eggs into. Because, genetically speaking, they're a single-parent species that just uses another being as a host.

And yet, they meet the requirements to have the half-celestial template applied. By the rules, it is perfectly possible to have a Slaad with the half-celestial template.

I'm not even sure I can process the words "Celestial Slaad".

In any event, the host body isn't a genetic contributor; it's just a nursery for the egg and food for the young slaad.

What is this genetics of which you speak and how does it work in D&D land where a dragon and an ooze can make a lovely little baby half-dragon ooze.

[Chei]

First, it’s definitely interesting that they have to wipe the Outsider’s minds. Not that I think it’ll come up again, but it’s still a cool tidbit. Also, I’m sad but not surprised to see Minrah go. Finally, I’m definitely eagerly awaiting seeing what happens with Durkon once he’s brought back.

Well, there's one group of powerful Outsiders with a stake in this conflict: that consortium of Lawful/Chaotic/Neutral Evil dudes. zimmerwald1915 mentioned them. They now know about the Snarl and might be wondering what the gods do to ageless, immortal creatures who learn about it.

I wonder how often knowledge of the Snarl gets out. It's been over 1000 years into this world's tenure and top-level Outsiders are just learning about it. Wouldn't the gods also have to do things like destroy records of the Snarl kept by Outsiders? It can't be so simple as to just cast Forget Snarl and call it a day.

[Father Miles]

Well, another strip or two I guess until we find out just how much time has passed on the material plane while Thor, Durkon and Minrah have been flying around the multiverse.

It's entirely possible, I think, that we might never see directly what happened to the ex-Exarch and his sidekicks, since Lurkon was the big major arc villain for this book. It was pretty much a given that the Order were making a beeline for the council of elders as soon as they recuperated somewhat from the last battle. From a narrative standpoint, the information that Thor has been imparting is of much more relevance to the overarching storyline of the strip than cleaning up a few rogue vampires, as much as we all might feel cheated out of another badass battle sequence.

Or, added story book?